The Deceivers
by Larfles
Summary: School is back in session and Sakura Haruno is the first one to say it sucks hard. But what happens when love at first sight makes high school more difficult then it already was? Will Sakura survive? Or will the lengths she will go for love land her in a bigger mess then ever? High School AU. Will contain: Profanity, mental instability, gore, violence, and a few OCs, and pairings.
1. Sympathy for the Juniors

I awoke with a start at the ear splitting scream of my alarm clock; which was going to stop at nothing to see that a was up and ready to go that morning. Ah the first day of school, most call it day one of constant torment. I would be one of those kids. My name is Sakura Haruno and as of today I am a junior at Konoha High School: the only decent school for miles around apparently. I can't understand why they would say something like that. As far as I'm concerned there are some pretty cute boys in other schools. (Hot boys are the one major thing this school is lacking.)

Still exhausted from my late night reading binge for my summer reading assignment I failed to do till the last second. I slowly and not so surely rose up in my bed like a lame excuse for a zombie rising from her grave except being much too lazy to rip her way out of the ground. When I finally did pry myself from the grips of my nice, warm bed, I limped over to the bathroom to get ready for the first day of all nighters and endless stresses. As I hobbled to the bathroom, a small black and green glowing object wandered in to my line of sight. The object just so happened to be my clock, which read 7:45.

A surge of distress ran through me. "Oh god, I'm late!" I thought out-loud, searching desperately for my uniform and a little something to eat.  
Finding an orange in the refrigerator (and my uniform laying stupidly conspicuous on my dresser) I got dressed and rushed hastily out the door with orange in mouth.

When I arrived at KHS common grounds, I attempted to call out to my friends but could only muster a hushed wheeze. Finding in a heartbeat that just calling for them would be futile, I decided to make a mad dash over to them. My muscles screamed in protest at each step I took. I decided to give them a big "Screw you" and ran to them, breath coming out as heavy panting.

"Hey guys!" I breathed weekly. The two turned around at the sound I  
of my voice, and drew closer. Air of humor surrounding one and worry surrounding the other.

"Sakura, are you okay? You seem a little... out of breath." The brown hair girl asked, starting to calm down at my subtle regaining of posture.

"I'm fine. I'm Out of breath, but fine." I smiled dimly at her, emerald eyes searching desperately for a clock to gauge how late I was. Then realized the something, how late could I be? The front commons bustled with kids, teachers, and the occasional principal. Joyous cries and melancholy moans twisted together into a confused yowl, which lingered like a fog over the commons.

"Um, Ino?" I began slowly.

"How late am I?"

Ino raised a brow, rolling her eyes as if to say "again?" She replied:

"You're not late at all Sakura. Honestly haven't you fixed your clock yet? You know I well as I do that you need to set it back a hour." Ino chided half jokingly.

"Okay Lady Yamanaka, I'll do whatever you say."

I slumped over comedic in defeat, sliding my foot back and forth with fake guilt. Leave it to Ino to call me out on something stupid I did. Ino had been my "mother" as well as Konoha School District's resident smart girl for years. I've considered her Miss Perfect ever since first grade. She is top of all of her classes, wins most all beauty pageants she takes place in, just so happens to have the best family in the world, and she is pretty enough to be in the popular crowd. Needless to say, envy of her takes hold of me sometimes.

"Can we cut the useless banter and talk about a worthwhile topic? Like maybe our classes?" My other best friend, Tenten asked, rolling her eyes in irritation. I wanted to assume she was tired of our constant bitching. Tenten was just that kind of person, can't stand our little "jokes". To be fair, she couldn't really stand jokes at all. Tenten came from a very strict family and they rubbed off on her a lot that doesn't mean she isn't Awesome! Tenten was super cool and one of the nicest people I knew. Lately she had been telling us about how her father was teaching her how to use weapons, like, shinobi weapons. I suppose in a way I envyed her too.

"Our classes are a worthy while topic?" Ino questioned.

Tenten gave a small nod. "Yeah, we might have each other in one of our classes. I don't know about either of you, but personally I'm glad I don't have too many hard classes this year."

I sighed at I thought of my schedule.

Since this was junior year, there were very few easy classes that I should be taking. Collages look at this year the most. That meant we needed to kill ourselves trying to take hard classes.

"I doubt we have classes together this year. We haven't since eighth grade." I reasoned.

I took my schedule out if my backpack and waved it around it around for emphasis. A quick comparison of our schedules confirmed our suspicion. Just then the bell rang, sending all the students around us gallivanting down the halls. Out if the corner of my eye I saw some little freshman with a bewildered look in their eyes. Poor guys.

"Well girls, I better get going! See you two later!" Ino called as she dissolved into the crowd of people.

* * *

"See ya!" Tenten and I shouted before parting ways ourselves.

I had little trouble finding my first class, Trig with Mr. Hatake. Although the sheer amount of kids mixed with my tendency to get shy in the first day cause me to float around the front of the class nervously gazing out the window. I wished I could go back home and sleep.

"Excuse me, Miss Haruno? May I ask you to sit behind Mr. Uchiha?" Mr. Hatake asked, pointing to the desk behind a boy I didn't recognize. I hesitated to say anything in response and promptly sat behind the boy. That is when I got a good look at him. He was tall and muscular, having very few noticeable flaws. The uniform he wore fit him perfectly, not too tight and not to lose. His hair was and eyes were dark, almost black. My heart pounded in my chest, this boy had to be the most cute I've ever seen! And to make things better he sit right by me!

I let the rest of the hour pass as I contemplated how to go about talking to this boy. Mr. Hatake rambled on and on, jumping from subject to subject. Still absolutely lost in the thought of Sasuke, I almost missed the bell indicating the end of the class. God I loved him.

Most classes whooshed right by me with haste. Maybe it was how boring and passable the day was. Or maybe it was my current fixation, but every class up till lunch became a blur immediately after I left. Lunch on the other hand happened to be the most eventful instance today.

I grabbed my lunch from out of the end of the yelling, screaming kid all arguing over who got the last slice of bacon pizza, and plopped down at my usual table. I sat at the outcast table, which meant everyone there was uncool and don't fit in anywhere else. We formed a bit of gang being that all of us are loners. All of us had to stick together right?

* * *

"Hey Sakura how is your day so far?" Tenten spoke first.

"Ah, it was pretty boring. Nothing interesting-" I paused.

"But there is this one really cute guy I like. His name is Sasuke Uchiha." I winced at the proceeding silence. The whole table exchanged glances with each other. By the looks on their faces I could tell this was bad.

"S-Sakura... I don't know if you should talk to him. I-it seems very risky..." The youngest girl at the table, Hinata, commented meekly.

I gave an expression of utter perplexing.  
After a moment I piped up.

"Why is that? You don't like him yourself do you?" I leaned in towards her, giving her a nudge. She doubled back in shock.

"N-no, I don't like him. I hardly know him. I'm just a little worried because Karin has her eye on him." Hinata replied, immediately shrinking back as if to prevent me from eating her alive.

Instead I narrowed my eye and sat back in my seat, my face growing hot at the thought of that queen bitch being together with Sasuke. I shouldn't have been as surprised as I felt, it wasn't like Sasuke wouldn't fall for her. She had the entire school at her fingertips, so it didn't matter if he failed to love her now, because she would make him.

I balled my fists in anger. There was absolutely no way I let Karin have him. None.  
I slammed my fists on the table making the platters and plastic bottles tremble with the force of the impact.

**"THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I'M GOING TO LET THE RETARD PRINCESS GET HER GRUBBY HANDS ON HIM!"** I screamed in rage. A hush fell over whole table. Hell, the whole cafeteria got dead quite. Immediately I double took, shocked in my outburst and how many people stopping what they were doing because of it. The volume of the kids around me rose, but my friends remained silent for a good minute.

"Wow. I had no clue Karin liking Sasuke would set you off," The brown haired boy, Kiba said softly, scratching his head in embarrassment. He was the only boy in our group at the moment. From what I heard, he was once a huge jock. As soon as his sister needed help with their animal shelter after their parents died, he had to quit all of his sports. Kiba said that it became a time consuming ordeal, so he couldn't go back to playing football. I don't know how it affected him, but he seemed to really want to play again. Aside from that, he is very protective of all of us and can be pretty sweet under his tough exterior. Oh, and he _lives_ in his family shelter, animals are for sure his greatest obsession.

"Uh, yeah... I guess I did get worked up a little. I just can't stand the thought Karin getting everything she wants." I softened my voice on the last word. A sinking feeling took over when I realized how stupid my action had been.

Suddenly the whole room started to buzz loudly with surprising fervor. I twisted in my seat of find the source if the uproar. Instead I was met with a small group of girls. Behind them a was giant mass of students of kinds. Freshman, seniors, pretty, ugly, tall, short, all gathered around the outcast table. A small shift in the position of the girls before us revealed a red headed girl who slowly approached the table. She admittedly could knock a man backwards using her appearance alone. Her red hair draped over her back, like a velvet curtain. Her legs were long and dainty, giving her a very feminine look. She kept all the boys drooling at her clothes which hugged her body so tightly that every curve of her body was plainly visible. This was Karin.

* * *

Karin forcefully slammed her fists down  
on the table causing, us to jump. The cafeteria fell deathly silent again. Now they watched, wondering what the next move would be.

"So you're the bitch who wants to steal Sasuke away from me?" Kairn sneered through her teeth.

In my preferal vision I caught a glimpse of Ino, Tenten and Kiba glaring straight at Karin. Hinata, on the other hand buried her head in her jacket, poor girl. I smiled sweetly at the bitch. With my friends backing me up, I wasn't going to go down easily.

"He's not yours you fucking whore!" I replied back in an almost musical way, emerald eyes staring insensitively at her.

"Look her missy." The red haired bitch said, grabbing my pale pink hair and yanking upward roughly. My friends sprung out of their chairs and lunged for Karin. Karin, with startling speed evaded my all friends who stumbled forward in shock. I was harshly dragged by the hair on to the tile floor. My head slammed into the ground and I finally felt the pain I had been expecting the whole time. It started as a dull but tolerable pain,from there the pain escalated in to a sharp, excruciating hurt which caused my ears to produce a defining ring.

"I think we have something to talk about." Kairn snarled, pulling me up by the chin in order to force me to lock eyes with her.

"I honestly don't have time nor energy for your bullshit. Sasuke isn't your and never will be. As far as I'm concerned I have just as much right to be with him. So please do me a favor and back the fuck off."

I don't think I caught more of what she said. All I could hear was the harsh ringing in my ears and the muffled cries a onlookers insisting the two of us fight. My eyelids began to droop suddenly. The world itself folded and collapsed as everything went dark.

* * *

I awoke blinking in puzzlement at my surroundings. I found myself on a green cot in a plain white room sporting several posters depicting the human body and at least one telling of proper hand washing methods. Tongue depressors lined shelves which were pushed against the walls. The room had a bizarrely sterile smell to it. I slunk down in the cot. Oh god, this was the nurse's office wasn't it? Just then the schools lone nurse, Miss Shizune arrived with a spiky blond haired boy.

"Why did she bring him here?" I mumbled under my breath in irritation. I knew that boy all to well. I don't think I'd ever met a person so mind numbing annoying.

"Are you feeling alright Miss Haruno? You took quite the spill in the cafeteria earlier." Miss Shizune asked, face twisted into a concerned frown.

"I'm fine thank you." I replied, eye fixed on the boy standing beside her, grinning like a maniac.

"Here, let me take your pulse." Shizune refused to give me time to respond before going right to work. All three for us sat in silence as she worked. I was first to break the awkward lack of talking.

"So how long was I out?" I enquired timidly, it felt as it uttering as much as a syllable would upset her. I knew that certainly couldn't be the case, but my mind only functioned partly right now.

"Forty minutes. You woke up five minutes after the initial fight and passed out again. It's sixth hour if you were wondering." Shizune replied, still preoccupied with making sure I was fine.

"And Naruto, what's he doing here?" I pointed to the boy who promptly sat on my bed hastily. He wore his usual giant grin that just screamed "I have never been sad in my life."

"I'm always in here! I help Miss Shizune by doing odd job for her! But I did get your little scuffle with Karin, and let me tell you we were all scared for you when you hit the ground!" Naruto almost shouted. Then it hit me; I had no clue what had happened after I got knocked out.

"I think you know what I'm going to say. What did I miss?" I propped myself up, bracing to hear of the amount of shit that hit the fan.

Naruto paused, watching the nurse as she backed off and left the cot to take care of someone on the other side of the blue curtain which separated my cot from another next to mine.

"It got bad real fast. After you passed out, Kiba got furious and punched one of Karin's friends. Her boyfriend then grew angry and they started fighting. I don't how, but it that sparked a massive fight among pretty much the whole cafeteria. "  
I gulped; this was going to be pinned on me. I knew it.

"What about Karin? Did she get what was coming to her?"

Naruto's expression drooped oddly. I had never seen him look upset like that before. "Um yeah..." He trailed off and shifted his focus to his feet quickly.

"She left as soon as it got bad... No one knows why exactly. Although some kids say they caught her taking about 'needing to find someone.' before disappearing to the crowd.

My emerald eyes narrowed in distain at the thought of Karin stumbling out of a chaotic lunchroom completely unscathed. It made my blood boil. She never found herself in need or lacking attention from her peers. As far back as I can remember she has been surrounded by cronies and yes-men who bent to her every whim. Now that she is faced with a little lowly girl challenging her, she throws a fit like a three year old.

"Who was she trying to find?" I wondered aloud, not truly expecting a solid answer from the hyperactive blond.

"I dunno, maybe a teacher? A few did come to brake up the fighting right after she left." Naruto reasoned.

I snorted at the absurd notion. With a sigh I corrected him. "I doubt it. She wouldn't do anything not benefiting herself."

Both me and Naruto reviled in awkward silence for a long time. Naruto shifted uncomfortably in place, glancing at the clock and then down at his feet. Even though I grew more puzzled by the moment, I refrained from questioning his actions.

"Naruto, you may go to class now. Sakura, I need to attend to business elsewhere. Would you mind stay here for at least ten minutes?" Miss Shizune asked both of us respectively.

I nodded, seeing Naruto dart out of the office with no hesitation. I rested in my bed for ten minutes or so, when I caught the sound of a hushed voice and the resounding echo of shoes in a empty hall.

* * *

"Itachi, are you there?" The low voice asked in a strange hushed manner. To my surprise no one responded to his question. Stealthily, I rose from my cot and snuck over to the doorway in curiosity. I peered out to find that Kisame Hoshigaki had been talking to someone, namely Itachi, over his cell phone. Kisame was a member of an odd little clique called "The Akatsuki". I had no clue what they did, but I, like everyone in the school could tell you that you could not under any circumstances befriend them.

Personally I find it difficult to understand why Kisame was in the Akatsuki; he bore a striking resemblance to a shark, on top of that he was huge, mean, and blue. However none of it mattered right now as I leaned against to the doorframe to get a better listen.

"You are sick then?"

"Heh heh... Itachi, you haven't told your folks why you're sick I hope."

"Yes yes I know. We are in deep shit if even a soul finds out. Your uncles will flip the shit out and kill us before the villagers do eh?" Kisame added a chuckle at the end.

"Sasuke? Wait you told Sasuke about it? What the flying fuck is wrong with you kid?"

"Yes. I know you care about him deeply, but not even he should a aware of what the Akatsuki does.

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Sasuke. What the hell was he doing with the Akatsuki? Were Itachi and Sasuke brothers or something? It would make this conversation make more sense.

"I guess you're right. He will be joining us pretty soon after all. You shouldn't be thinking about it right now; you need rest."

"Uh.. yeah... I should be in class... but the thing is, I'm not."

"Blah blah blah, I'm keeping my voice down."

"Going to work today? Yep, although I got fired from the last job I had."

"What about this one? I'm working with the blondie, what's his name? Naruto? Yeah that's him. I cook with him in the local orphanage."

"He's an orphan himself you know."

"Shut up, you know everything Itachi."

"Enough of that, I have something bigger to say. We will still be holding the Akatsuki meeting tomorrow, but the leader said it will be at the drive-in instead of your house."

"No. You're not well enough to hold the meeting. Don't giving me that shit. I know it's not contagious, I don't care. You gotta stay in bed."

"Good boy. Now what about the fact the new meeting location is the fucking drive-in? Ain't it weird?"

"I think leader has gone a little coo-coo after hearing his little buddy almost lost his life when training."

"Oh, you didn't get the news? Nagato was horribly injured in some sort of training regimen."

"Nagato, kinda short has long red hair covering one of his eyes? Has a burning crush on that small green eyed girl Sasuke says sits next him in first hour. Has some supposedly god-like powers."

"Now ya got it!"

"He was recently sent to the hospital when he started crying about not being able to feel his legs. We found out later he couldn't use them because they were too badly damage. A few days later he was sent home and right after was sent to a loopy bin. He screamed some damn creepy things like: 'I'm not meant to see what I've seen.' 'I know too much. I can't know this much, it will kill me' and weirdest of all. 'When the end comes I will still be here, THEY will still be here'. I have no clue what any of that means. It might just be crazy babbling for all I know.

"He checked out yesterday, pretty sure he's at home now. He won't be at the meeting either."

"Guess this is how it's gonna be from now on. Your fucked up uncles are gonna break us down one by one until they find out the whole experiment was a bust."

"True. They'll just do it to more poor saps like us."

"I should go back to class now. Seventh hour is going to be starting soon, can't miss chemistry now can I?"

"Itachi? I... I miss ya kid."

Kisame cracked a toothy grin at whatever response he got. The shark man hung up still grinning widely; he dashed down the long hall just as the bell ring. Seeing the nurse fighting crowds of commuting kids pushing their way to their next classes, I dashed back to my cot and threw myself on. I twisted back into position and shut my eyes tightly.

"Sorry that took so long; I had some issues to deal with involving Ms. Tsunade." Miss Shizune smiled and laughed softly. I think she might have said something else. Too bad I had been to busy putting the pieces of the conversation I listened in on together. Sasuke might be linked to the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki have a leader and his friend has a crush on me. At least as far as I know. I'm the only green eyed girl that still by Sasuke in first hour. The Akatsuki are going to be meeting tomorrow the drive-in. If I can find a member who is going and follow them, I may be able to get closer to Sasuke.

I smiled devilishly to myself. Today hasn't been uneventful after all.


	2. Meeting some new Friends

**Hello everyone! Larfles here, I'm interested in knowing who everyone wants to see get together in the end. I must warn you though, I have very few set pairings, and some characters will not have pairings. Please review and enjoy! **

* * *

The nurse told me I shouldn't go to back to classes for seventh hour, so I laid on my hard cot and began starring at the clock absentmindedly. After roughly fifty minutes Miss Shizune gave me the OK leave for home. I figured I wouldn't need to stop by seventh hour considering it was merely study hall. After a large swam of high schoolers made a mass exodus out the doors and started to walk home, I tentatively shuffled down through the near empty hall. Ino and Tenten joined me on my extensive trek to me house.

"Sakura, are you still hurt? Because if you are, someone will be payed a visit from their worst nightmare!" Tenten proclaimed with fervor.

"Please guys, I know you want to help me. I'm sorry but right now want to forget what happened." I sighed, bringing my gaze to the ground. I didn't feel as bad I let on to; I knew I would have some sympathy from my friends in order to ensure a trip to Konoha's only drive-in movie theater.

"Sakura, you were knocked out cold for almost forty minutes, are you sure you're fine?" Ino asked with a look of softness in her eyes. I felt a little scummy for manipulating Ino and Tenten, but I need to know more about Sasuke before Karin gets to him. If I wait, I may never find a better opportunity to be with Sasuke.

"Would you guys like to go to Konaha drive-in with me? It is going to be Friday tomorrow." I said softly, forcing my voice to quiver. I needed to ham it up as much as I could.

"If it will take your mind off today's fight then we'd be happy to go." Ino's bright smile filled me with an amount of guilt that caused me to wince inwardly. I made a small promise myself that I would make it worth their while. It mattered little if I was present the whole time; as long as they were entertained.

"Thanks! I said, dashing off in the direction of my house with so much haste I forgot to say goodbye. or wave to my neighbor as a darted into my house. Slamming the door behind me, I flopped on my bed and started to put my plan together.

* * *

The movie usually starts ten minutes after the sun sets. If I can find a member or two to follow around, I might be able to find where the Akatsuki are, as well as Sasuke. From the information I gathered through the years, the members I know are:

Deidara, the information guru

Kisame, the weird shark guy

Itachi, the rich boy and presumed hot brother

Sassori, the werid puppet guy with the weird assistant girl.

Konan, biggest slut in Konoha High

and last, Kakuzu... I had no clue if this guy was a kid or not.

All I have to do is hover far behind one of the members until they led me to the meeting place. In this case it would be Sasori I needed to follow because he could be followed there for Ino's house the easiest due to the location of his house being across from her house

A sly grin passed over my face as I stared up at my ceiling fan twirling round and round. This would determine which girl had the upper hand. Sasuke would be out if Karin's grip soon enough. Deep down I knew my plan had a massive chance of falling through in one way or another, but I took that risk wholeheartedly.

I awoke earlier the next day eager to get done with school and put the plan into action. I expected Friday to be long and hard to sit through. To my delight, l breezed through the day and forgot most of it. Then I rushed home to drees in more comfortable clothes, while heading out to Konoha drive-in my dad said something about getting a hotdog. I was already to far away to hear what it had been.

Both me and Tenten met up at Ino's now out of us three. She was the only one street legal. All three of use piled in to her car and started driving off. Maybe my guilt started to ebb away at me a little more than I imagined, because our car ride seemed to contain part silence and part small bantering sessions until we reached our destination.

* * *

Konoha drive-in consisted to two massive screens (one which showed mostly kiddie movies and the other which showed PG and up stuff.) as well as a massive slab of blacktop where all the trucks parked. Right below the screens was a small rusted out playground; when my parents took my here as a child I would adore riding the swings, trying to hang on to the iron merry-go-round while friends would try to spin it so fast I had to hang on for dear life, and most importantly, searching until dusk for a wild child in the neighboring forest. Legends were passed around in elementary school when I still attended. A half beast, half girl lurked in the densest part of the forest. I, Naruto and Ino grabbed any opportunity we could to try to find ourselves a beast to capture. None of us found a trace of what we were looking for. Soon enough we lost interest in the wild child dwelling in the thick undergrowth of the forest. Naruto to this day claims he saw it. Only a moron would believe him.

Ino and Tenten pulled blue coolers holding assorted sodas, chips and junk food out if Ino's car. While they were preoccupied with setting up chairs and giggling excitedly to each other, I scanned my surroundings for Akatsuki members. Honestly I was shocked to spot a short, red haired man heading out towards the nearby forest. He double took several times as if to be sure he wasn't being followed.

"Guys, I'm going to take a walk until the movie starts." I informed my friends, beginning to inconspicuously pursue Sasori.

"Don't get lost!" The two replied in unison cheerily.

I never expected my mission to be so difficult. Each step I took seemed to cause fifteen people to surround me in order to talk to friends or something. Seconds passed before found that I lost sight of Sasori. I gathered all the strength I possessed to push my way through the crowd of chattering people. At all sides I was buffeted until I squeezed out. I then spied Sasori skulk into the forest alone. My legs became like magnets, I felt I was no longer fully in control of my action. Each step I took was nearly disembodied movement that I failed to be able to control.

The instant I peeked into the forest Sasori vanished without a trace. He just disappeared out of nowhere. Sasori may have been a master of puppetry but that didn't equate to ninja. Wordlessly I creped in after him, still I saw no signs that Sasori had ever even been there. The forest turned out looking exactly how I remembered. Giant trees scratched the fading pink sky causing it to bleed red clouds. Undergrowth and weeds weaved their way across the soft soil terrain. But at the moment figured I should stop sightseeing. I needed to continue on with my goal. Carefully I began trekking through the undergrowth, watching for movement in the brush as in indication he could be near. Despite not being able to detect him any longer trekking on seemed a good option.

Almost ten minutes later I reached the heart of the forest. It had grown dark and the last dying light of day reaching through the thick trees. I knew right there that I wouldn't make it back in time. Certainly Ino and Tenten were wondering where I vanished to. With a stinging sadness in my chest, I turned to leave when I spotting something. A faint light glowed weakly through a small hole in the brush. Upon closer inspection I found the light had been from a small rocky cave. Closer and closer I drew to the source until I heard a familiar sound, it was talking which came from inside the overgrown cave.

No one could be seen near the mouth, so I took my chance to enter while still hidden. The silent voices grew louder upon ever step until I found I was able to hear every single solitary word said. Most of it turned out to be off color jokes and crude comment about dicks. Why would Sasuke hang around these guys? Sasuke acted nothing like them, quite the opposite in fact. Whatever, the Akatsuki had none of my interest.

A wave a hushed silence washed over the cave leaving a hollow wooshing of a breeze outside. I shut my eyes tightly, fearful that what I see next may be one of them.

"She's here my friends." Sasori's soft tone echoed off the walls. I could tell he was close, very close.

* * *

The glow which illuminated the cave dimmed to the point of nonexistence. Panic settled in my chest, which grew into a painful inferno of terror. My alarm made me twist my head from side to side in attempt to find my assailants, but to no avail. I remember little of my initial struggle, however my hand were bound in rope and I was led deeper into the cave.

Light returned to the cave, reviling six guys and a girl. Sasuke didn't seem to be present. Bitter self loathing bashed itself against my mind. I took a stupid gamble, and quiet frankly lost badly. Not only was Sasuke not here, but I had stepped in the biggest pile of shit.

"Miss, this is a private affair. What is your business here?" A tall blue eyed orange haired boy asked with strict finality.

I hadn't given thought to who the rest of the members were, with that said I still felt shocked by the speaker. Yahiko was his name. This guy had been the most popular in school since he first arrived as a Freshman. The in-crowd had become his self centered bitch, and he also took the position of head of all the cool clubs. On top of this he was captain of the football team.

"I-I'm looking for Sasuke Uchiha." I squeaked.

A good portion of the members roared with laughter at my answer. A burly man with sliver hair slicked back appeared right in front of my face causing me to back up.

"Why the fuck would pretty boy SasGAY be with the Akatsuki? The man couldn't care less about us."

"I just thought-"

"We'll it looks like someone thought fucking wrong!" The guy shouted.

"Hidan, shut up. The last thing we need your squawking to calm the situation." The massive man I knew as Kakuzu growled.

"Ah fuck off money bags." Hidan scoffed.

"Please take your fighting outside. We don't need more conflict than we have now." Yahiko sighed

Hidan said nothing.

"Sasuke doesn't work with us thankfully. He might be at home if you wanna to find him." Kisame added.

I nodded weakly, too scared to move from my position.

"Sasori, Take her back to the drive in." Yahiko commanded.

Sasori approached me with an impassive expression on plastered on his face. I shrunk at the sight of the small red head, only having the guts to follow him out of the mouth of the cave. We walked in silence until we got to the edge of the forest.

"What you pulled tonight was beyond stupid. Don't do it again or you will pay. And if I may make a suggestion, stay away from Sasuke." Sasori said flatly.

He left me to walk the rest of the way alone. By the time a arrived, the movie was already underway. Ino and Tenten darted towards me, telling me how they searched everywhere for me. I would have cared more if I wasn't so shaken up. I just wanted to forget what happened. I couldn't keep myself from staring into the forest throughout the film. I now knew what no one else did; the location of the Akatsuki was in there. THEY were the only beasts that existed there.

* * *

I was jogged back to reality by Ino asking me and Tenten if she could vist Shikamaru and Choji, two friends of her's who work here. As soon as she left , I turned to Tenten.

"Tenten, do you think I should get over Sasuke? I know if I try hard enough I may get him someday, but I was wondering."

Tenten took a moment to think.

"At the moment, that might be for the best. I don't think chasing him around will do what you want it to. I know you like to think you love him, and you very well might, but lets face it, He isn't too accessible. Maybe you could find someone a bit easier?"

Easier. I thought for a solid minutes about who it could find. That's when it hit me, Nagato.

"Where does Nagato live?" I asked.

"I think he lives a block from school in the huge two story house. Why?"

"I know who I going to visit tomorrow. I overheard a rumor saying he might like me" I said, looking between the movie and my friend.

"Good. I'm glad you haven't gotten down on yourself about it. I'm sure you'll get your change with Sasuke eventually." Tenten mimicked my odd method of watching movies.

Tenten's reassurance help a little, although I didn't she understood what I really wanted. Don't get me wrong. I loved Sasuke. I cared more about showing Karin and the rest of the popular kids that outsiders shouldn't have to watch as they take what they want.

Nothing was going to stop me from showing them what loser could do. All I had to do was get over theses road bumps.


	3. Now I'm going places

Ino came back over to watch the movie with us about halfway through. The glow of the movie screen caused me to waver in conciseness until a fell asleep.

I awoke to a moving van and glaring headlights. Ino told us she was taking us back to our respective houses because she worked at her family flower shop in the morning.

"Hey sleeping beauty, did you have a good nap? You like, the best part of the movie!' I could hear a teasing tone in her words, especially "sleeping beauty".

"I'm sorry. I'm so tired," I said, fighting back sleep even as we spoke.

"Go back to sleep then. We wouldn't want to have you too tired to walk up to your own house right. Tenten cooed.

I failed to make it past one more word before falling back asleep. Early the next morning I woke up to a sweet smell wafting in the warm air. It took me a brief moment to register that I was in my bed, so I assumed one of someone carried me in.

"What time is it?" I wondered groggily as I turned to my alarm clock which read 12:39. Mom must have been making lunch or something. Getting out if bed was a day to day battle all the time. Today differed from normal. Instead of sliding out of bed groggily, I nearly jumped from my bed, got dressed and went to find my potential friend. Mom greeted me right as I left my house. I said hi, but I had no clue if she heard me though.

* * *

I received little detail on where Nagato's house was, so I relied on people I met on the street to guide me the correct direction. Very few knew what I was talking about, fewer were able to guide me where I needed to go. Finally an old lady pointed in south towards school. She told me to look for a white two story houses which always kept the blinds drawn. Her last detail came across a little unnerving, 'Don't bother knocking on the door, no one ever responds.'

My blood ran cold at her tone, inspite of the woman's words I thanked her, picking up the pace as soon as she disappeared behind me. South Konoha was pretty close to the easiest place to get to for me in the village because I live so close. It had gaining a reputation for being a very nice, clean area where all the middle class citizens lived. Lawns were always neat and green, most houses were garnished small decorations or a playground in the back. Trees were lush and abundant, branches reached out into the streets below. I wished every time my mom and I passed the vibrant streets filled with happy children. Sometimes I would stare at children who passed by us while mom drove. I imagined I had enough money to buy a pool and swim in it for hours without end. Unfortunately my childish dreams were crushed when my dad lost his job and we were required to move into an smaller house to keep up with payments.

As I continued on the road I began allowing my mind to wander further away from me. Daydreaming was practically my hobby. When I got board in class I only had to tune out the world and place myself in a new one. Having such an imagination has a few drawbacks though, as I nearly passed up the house and kept walking. Spinning back in the proper direction, I shuffled briskly up to the place. I'd never created a mental image for this place so I can say didn't quiet feel right starring the abode.

All blinds I could see were in fact drawn, insuring light could not intrude in the residents.  
Paint chipped in huge masses on the siding of houses leaving ugly brown spots everywhere. Shingles were missing in obvious places giving said manor an awfully shabby appearance. I studied all possible details, cracks, crevices to determine if I made a mistake in coming here. It looked more as if Nagato was some sort of murderer instead of a student.

"Excuse me Miss Sakura, why are starring at my house?"

The question caused me to double take. I was able it came from a boy, nothing else.

"Down here." He spoke stated softy, with a slight tinge of humor lacing his word. I followed his instructions. What I saw was a little disappointing if Nagato was the boy I stood in front of. The boy in question was pale, very pale in fact, so much so that his sickly white skin seemed even whiter when the sun hit it. Scarlet hair draped itself over most of his face, except for one of his eyes. A haunting chocolate brown eye peaked out from his hair. It was a quite daunting how the boy gazed with wide eyed enamorment at me. None of his physical features bothered me; however an icy shock ran down my spine as I realized he sat in a wheelchair.

Don't get me wrong, I've never judged anyone off of a disability they had. It caught me off guard though. I suppose I just wasn't prepared for him to be crippled. Then it hit me, Kisame told Itachi about this guy. I had been crippled while "training". But another small detail had lingered in my head. He knew my name. Obviously I never told him what to call me, so how did he know my name was Saukra?

A friendly smile crept across my face. I tried to ignore it and think about his situation. He'd been through enough already, crushing his sprites by rejecting him would be so awful. I knew I should be as nice as humanly possible to this kid, already had his ability to walk taken away from him after all.

"I'm here to see you! The people at school told me that you were going to be out for awhile so I wanted to keep you company." I said, still smiling brightly.

"Thank you Miss Sakura, I appreciate it. My name is Nagato. You probably know that though." Nagato replied, smiling softly and lowering his head slightly.

"Have you heard of me at school? You knew who I was." I asked.

"No. I just knew your name, Sakura Haruno." Nagato said with finality.

I stood awestruck at his words. Trying to move was a list cause. What the hell was he talking about? He just knew? This bastard was fucking insane! In my head I scolded myself for thinking like that. He was a crippled boy, he must have just been traumatized by those recent events. But with that said, Nagato guessed my name disturbingly accurately. I decided to at least try to push that creepy incident aside and continue talking to him.

Silence fell over both if us.

"I shouldn't have said that... right?" He asked, shrinking back in his wheelchair.

I dismissed Nagato's question altogether and tried to change the subject to prevent further awkwardness.

"How old are you Nagato?" I prided myself in the perfect situation evasion.

"I'm seventeen." Nagato fixed his sight on his twiddling fingers. Poor boy, he looked at least three years younger than he was. I failed to be shocked by the minor revelation, might not have looked his age; but he was cute.

The scarlet haired boy swiveled his head around and then turned to me.

"Um, do you want to come inside for awhile? If you'd like to that is." Nagato soft smile came back, now to faltered slightly though.

* * *

"I'd love to!" My fake eagerness earned me another grin from Nagato as he wheeled himself up the driveway and opened to door. Astonishingly the interior of the house was neat, clean and bright. He led me into the living room, stoping at the edge of a nearby couch he hoisted himself on and gestured for me to sit with him. I did so reluctantly, still not being completely comfortable being here, I only sat there unmoving.

"Uh, so you really came here to see me?"

"Yeah, I don't know why I wouldn't. You seem like a nice enough boy."

"Thanks. I only get a few people visiting me. I'm not too popular as you can tell. I was hoping Deidara would stop by; but he's busy stalking people and collecting personal information today." Nagato added a light chuckle at the end.

"He is the archive guy isn't he?" I heard so many things about him, mostly pertaining to his "work". He was some sort of starving artist as far as rumors go.

"Deidara is a friend of mine, kinda... he was supposed to go shopping for me today. I assume he forgot. He does things like that when he's caught up in other people lives or is own life. That's fine I guess; I'll call Konan up later and see if she'd do it." Nagato's tone oozed with bitterness.

"Well he might be doing it now." I reasoned.

"I doubt it. He does this all the time. I've had to wait till' nightfall for food three times in a row. When it's his job he never comes."

"Maybe you could hang out with me tomorrow! I swear I'll feed you!" My joke received dead air from the red head.

"I'd like to, don't get me wrong; but I think it might be a big hassle at the moment. I'm not supposed I be outside, so what I pulled today would have gotten me in big trouble if I was seen. I'd rather not risk conflict. I hope you understand." Nagato averted his visible eye from mind.

"It's okay. You need to spend time resting. You can't do that with me bugging you."

"Thanks for understanding"

We spent the rest of our time idly chattering with each other. Jumping from topic to topic and not stay on the same one for more than five minutes. Nagato offered to play video games with me. I being the awful gamer I am, turn him down. At the end of my stay I gave him my cell phone number, telling him we should hang out more often. Before I left, he called to me.

"Before you leave," He began. Honestly I thought he was going to ask on a date right then and there.

"Stay out of the Akatuki's business. I know you're a nice girl, and you shouldn't put yourself in harm's way. Just leave them be, especially Itachi." I spent no more time in that house. For whatever reason his last statement made me want to hightail it out of there as fast as I could. I reached in to my purse and grabbed my phone. _"Should I call Ino to get me?"_ I thought to myself. 

When I called Ino no one picked up, so my trek commenced. The meeting I just had with Nagato buzzed in my head the whole way back home. He was nice enough, only problem happened to be his inherent insanity. Now his number was in my contacts. He could text me creepy ass messages all the time now.

* * *

In my newfound funk I almost passed I building I wanted to check out for I long while. "Deidara's Archival Center" as Deidara himself insisted it be called. It was supposed to be a massive archive on every person in the school district. Not only academic things either, pretty much anyone could use it to accesses personal details by merely paying for them. I figured since I walked by this place a lot, and Nagato knows Deidara. Perhaps I would be eligible for a discount or something. More importantly I might be helpful information from this.

There I stood, in front of the Archival building which in reality used to be Konoha Public Library. For roughly nine years it had sat unused until sometime between then and now, it became an underground collection of files. I pushed open the heavy glass doors which closed immediately upon my entering.

Konoha Library used to be massive, with the largest collection of literature in the Land of Fire. Shelves once overflowing with books now gathered dust. It still had a huge imposing presence because of its size, although since I didn't hear a thing, it had succeeded in nothing but creeping me out.

I drifted to the empty shelves, scanning all around for signs of life. I had the correct building. Surely I hadn't made a mistake.

Suddenly a loud "ding" resonated through the deserted library, causing me to jump. Then another, and another, and yet another until I heard a man speak.

"Would client number one please proceed to the sign in desk?" I recognized that voice, the speaker was Hidan no doubt. Moving proved to be difficult for me in such a nervous state. My leg buckled when I tried forward. Instead I stumbled forward and began to shuffle slowly to the long, former checkout desk.

"Please come to the desk client one!" Hidan repeated, now closer to shouting than he had been a second ago.  
I manage to essentially throw myself at the desk, was Hidan hiding? I didn't see him speaking. Once more, scanning around for instruction, I found a small, rusty bell. I carefully rang it. To my surprise, Hidan appeared from what I assumed had been under the desk.

"Hello client- ah so it seems I got it right! Sakura Haruno, you are client one aren't you?" Hidan asked in a half snort.

"Yeah, you see I friend mentioned this service and I remembered that it's on my way home." I explained.

"I see... well do you have a reservation?" The silver haired man questioned.

"Uh, wait, I needed a reservation?"

"Why wouldn't you? Ah fuck, I guess that means no. Hold on let me see if we can squeeze you in now." Hidan pulled out a piece if paper on a clip board and slammed it down on the desk. He ran down rows of empty boxes were names went. There were literally no names listed on the sheet.

"It might be a stretch because we are so busy; but we can make some room for your pretty little ass." Hidan pointed to a large back room with a thick glass window.

"Deidara is in that room. When you've got all your information then you can pay me. Afterwards scram, we are extremely busy with work. Did I simplify your instructions enough?"

I rolled my eyes, pretending not to notice his thinly veiled insults towards me. I shoved past him harshly, not wanting to pay the guy more attention then what I already had.

Deidara's "office" consisted of a desk, desk lamp, shelves containing god knows how many clay figures, and a modest sized bed against the back wall. I opened my mouth to call for the blond, although I soon spotted him emerging from a door across from me.

* * *

"You are Sakura eh? If a recall, you infiltrated last night's Akatsuki meeting wanting to find out about Sasuke, hm?"

I gulped loudly, nodding slowly him.

"I assume you want to know more about him?"

Once more I nodded in intimation.

"Hold on then." He said, turning to open the door. Deidara vanished inside, emerging five minutes later holding a thick yellow file. Deidara sauntered over, and handed it to me.

Filled with anxiousness, I sat in a nearby desk and started to read. I hadn't reached sentence three before a horribly cruel through crawled into my mind. Jealous girls are known to use Deidara's services to wreak other girls' social life. Karin could do it to me at whenever she wanted, so why shouldn't I be able to do it to her as well?

"I also want to see files on Karin!" I proclaimed, gaining more bravado.

Wordlessly Deidara slunk into the small back room. Instead of retrieving his file and giving it to me, he just hurled it directly at me.

"Hope you can pay for all this." Out of the blue, Deidara grew quiet. I couldn't figure out why; but I disregarded it.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can." I said as I began to read Sasuke's files.

According to his files, Sasuke was born into the legendary Uchiha clan. They were once revered for being masters of a doujutsu called "Sharingan" At the turn of the century when shinobi were being phased out, Uchihas adapted and became heads of business all over the country. Sharingan users no longer exist. Apparently Sasuke and his brother Itachi were filthy rich. Itachi had been in Konoha's school system forever now, although Sasuke just transfer in to public school. That certainty got my attention. Nothing else stood out as relevant. I flipped through all visible pages and turned up nothing. Pets I didn't care about. Transcipt of grades until now, not what I wanted. Family tree, interesting I guess, but useless. Layout of his mansion, did Deidara have anything else to do?

I closed the file, starring crossly at Kairn's. This had to be more useful than Sasuke's.

_'Karin lives in South Konoha. Her parents were murdered last year in a violent shoot out in East Konoha. Since then she has been living alone in her house. However, four weeks ago her cousin moving in with her and she took on a second job to support him. Her cousin is-'_ My concentration shatter when my ears were graces with a loud bang. I perked up immediately to find Deidara gone from his quarters.

* * *

Outside the room it sounded as if Deidara and Hidan had found a new client.

"Lookie who is it, Shinju Takara! What brings you here?" Shinju Takara? I recognized that girl as the creepy one who hangs around graveyards, "talks" to ghosts and assists Sasori constantly.

"I am here in place of Mr. Akasuna. He ran into issues constructing a new puppet, so I am here."

"Haha, will he ever get over his freaking puppets. Every single one of them spits in the face a true art, hm!"

"Your art is superficial sir. It last long enough for you to see; but who else possibly could appreciate it the same way... with all due respect."

"Fuck art! Fuck all the art there ever was!" Hidan interjected.

"Deidara, she wants to spend her money here. Do you know how many people want to spend their money here? Fucking no one Jashin damn it! So please, do not anger the customer!"

I rolled my eyes, Hidan had a point. This place kind of sucked at giving information.

"Fine, fine. Shinju, who do you need information about?"

"Before I tell you, Hidan, the spirts in the cemetery are growing restless again and I would like it if you could help appease them."

"Aw, already? I guess I'll do it tonight."

"Stay on topic! Shinju who do you need intel on?"

"Sorry, Mr. Akasuna needs to assassinate someone. Her name is Sakura Haruno."


	4. Into the Woods

**Hey everyone! Damn, this proved to be a hard chapter to write. Between life, school, and playing three hours of Skyrim every two days, I struggled to find time for this. Luckily I did! Anyway, thank to everyone who reviewed the story! I hope to improve in writing so keep the reviews coming! Finally, a question to the readers. I mentioned before that pairing would be included, so who do you want to see together? **

* * *

I almost tried to detach myself from the situation and retreat into my safe mind. Although if I were to, it would make no difference. I was going to die. Shutting my eyes, I tried desperately to come up with something, anything that would heighten my chances of seeing tomorrow. Perhaps if I could somehow escape from this goddamn room I might be able to make a B line for one of the windows. I racked my brain over it for a brief moment. There may have been a better solution, however the massive terror I was in prevented me from thinking straight. I barely took note of the eerie silence which emanated from outside. Picking myself up, I braced for hell and snuck from the room. Instantly I felt a sharp pain surge up my neck, Hidan had appeared out the blue, the man smiled like mad at the vice grip he now had on my shirt collar. Like a caged animal. I already fell victim to a trap.

"And where do you think your going bitch?" I heard Hidan snarl. I myself was at an utter loss for words. No matter how much I strained to find something to say in my defense, words refused to come.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Deidara and Shinju approach me. Shinju never failed to unnerve me with her dark, eternally curious façade. She and I met once or twice, both at funerals. The brown haired girl obsessed over dead things it seemed. Fortunately for her, she'd be able to talk to my corpus all she wanted in a moment.

Hidan yanked harder on my collar, constricting my wind piped. I gasped weakly, pulling my collar forward in hopes to breath again. Hidan laughed hysterically as he watched my pathetic attempts to filter air back in my lungs.

"What the hell did you do to land on Sasori's hit list? God, I wish I could kill you! I'd have so much fun tearing you to bloody shreds! Better yet, I'd rip your heart out as an offering to Jashin!"  
The glee Hidan felt while describing my gory demise would have make my sick; but a good deal of my energy when to keeping myself from collapsing.

Shinju frowned at the crazy guy who wanted me dead more then Sasori probably did.

"Sir, I respect your wishes, however Sakura is not your kill. She is Sasori's."

The man rolled his eyes in annoyance. His grin faded into a grimace of disappointment. He suddenly elbowed me sharply in the ribs, causing my legs to give in. My surroundings went black for a brief second. As soon as the world came back into focus, I realized I had collided with cold worn out carpet, Hidan's foot now on my chest.

"W-why?" I whimpered weakly, straining to look up at my newfound attacker and the two spectators. Hidan was about to open is mouth when Shinju interrupted him.

"Please don't take it personally miss. Mr. Akasuna is only interested in you because a man requested your death. You have delved too deeply into the Akatsuki's business by locating their hideout. Their benefactor has grown more cautious than he would like to be. He is worried you will leak the information to the public. I-I hope you understand." Shinju's eyes left tons of room to guess her feelings toward the situation, although I assumed the presses of assisting Sasori in murder was a regular thing.

"P-please let me go! I have no interest in the Akatuki or it's goals! I never did! I-I thought the Akasuki was just a group a of friends anyway. How could I have known differently?" I begged for my life on the ground. Fear grabbed me, holding me in place for the three to watch as I broke down in front of them.

"The Akasuki is more than you even need to know. They must be carful not to foster suspicion, and that included from students. It may seem excessive; but it is purely cautionary." Shinju said while reaching into a small pouch she had on her left thigh. She slowly pulled out a syringe containing some sort of yellow fluid.

"This will cause you to pass out for a few hours. In order for me to transport you to Sasori" The creepy girl stated bluntly, drawing so closed to my skin that I started to feel the light sting of a needle which hadn't even touched my sink yet.

My heart started pounding again. I hand curled into fists. A horrible burning sensation ravaged my throat and threatened to bubble over. I shut my eyes tightly. Hidan surly had no intention of releasing me, so I could only wait in horror.

"**I BEG OF YOU, I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I'LL NEVER LOOK INTO THE AKATSUKI AGIAN! PLEASE LET ME LIVE!** I... I'll do anything..." it was impossible to hold in any longer. All of my sadness came forth at once as I found myself sobbing hysterically. I knew crying would get me nowhere, tears still kept rolling down my cheeks.

Shinju faltered briefly, scrutinizing the laying in front of her. For a brief shining moment I thought she had reconsidered. Instantaneously, I was proven wrong when Shinju plunged the needle into my arm. The substance burned intensely, making my arm tense up to null the pain.

My body grew weak in seconds. Soon I felt as if lead bricks were tied to my limbs I could move so little. Hidan, Deidara, and Shinju peered down at me. In a last ditch effort to gain sympathy, I gave the most broken, hurt puppy- dog expression I had ever mustered before passing out.

* * *

To my astonishment, I woke up on my porch. Somehow I lived. No Sasori, or Akatsuki, or any other weird borderline cult- gang things. I was alone, but alive. Twilight filtered through the trees surrounding my house now. The joyful sounds of children playing and smoky smells of early bonfires romped down the streets. I scanned up and down the streets for signs of Akatsuki members anywhere around me. No one turned up in my vision, so I heaved myself up and limped inside. My parents were likely shopping for the day. Knowing them, I would be along for a while. I almost closed the door when I saw something stuck to it. A small, white letter hung indefinitely on the door.

I plucked it off and slammed the door shut. I then locked it and peeked out the intricate glass window embedded in it. Sparing no expense, I ran around my whole house shutting and locking all windows. Paranoia or not, someone wanted me dead. I didn't want to take chances with my demise. After I assured myself I had secured everything, I sat in the living room and read the letter:

_Dear Miss Haruno,_

_My sincerest apologies for knocking you out. I had to find a way to transport you home safely. It may not have been the most effective method in hindsight; but with your panicking it proved hard to think properly. Enough of that however. As you can see, you are still alive. I made the choice to spare you on a whim. You had not truly committed crime in my eyes, therefor I wanted to spare you. I will not be coming back for you, nor will any of the Akatsuki. I managed to convince their benefactor that you will not seek further information about the Akatuski._

_You will live; but on two conditions._

_1. You will never meddle an Akatsuki business._

_2. You will never speak of what transpired on this day._

_Failure to comply will result in murder._

_On to a lighter topic now. I don't ask anything in return, although I do have one request. This request is rather odd though. I would like to be your friend. You see, I have no other friends other than Mr. Akasuna. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Akasuna is my closest and most dear friend. However I feel it would good for me to have more. Making friends has always been a challenge for me, and I have never known how to go about it. You seem like rather nice girl. so I shall extend a hand in friendship. Not only have I asked; but by saving your life, I have done something nice. Friends are supposed to do nice things for each other right? I hope to get an answer from you by any means, of course you don't have to if you don't want to. Have a nice day! :)_

_P.S. Don't worry about owing money to Deidara. I paid for you. _

_Sincerely, _  
_Shinju Takara _

Shinju wanted to be friends with me? To be honest I saw why she wanted she more friends. Sasori was her one and only friend, to make matters worse they didn't even seem to be on a first name basis. If she had no one, than I'd be glad to have her as my friend. After all, I owe my life to her right? The smily face was also pretty cute I must admit. Plus I liked freaks, all of my friends were freaks. She'd fit in well!

An hour passed since I woke up and my mind finally caught up to the situation I was in. I almost died today. This fact failed to sink in earlier. Although, now reality started to punch me in the face. Could I really trust Shinju? Or that the Akatsuki weren't still after me?

The notion made me shiver. No matter how hard I thought, the truth evaded me. And that scared me more than the Sasori, Hidan, or this "Benefactor" Shinju mentioned. I knew I shouldn't put complete faith in her, nor should I do put faith in any Akatsuki member. Suddenly a line of Shinju's letter resonated in my head: _'You will never speak of what transpired on this day._

_Failure to comply will result in murder.'_

If I asked my friends to protect me, they usually would. But now I landed myself between a rock and a hard spot. If I said anything pertaining to the attempted assassination, they were going to kill me.

* * *

I spent the next week in complete fear and paranoia. In school, I hardly spoke to friends. The urge to tell Tenten and Ino welled inside me daily, so I turned from them. Hiding away and isolating myself proved to be so much more difficult then any situation I ever imagined. So many times they drew close to ask me if anything was wrong. All I could say was " No, nothing's wrong".

My life carried on like constant terror until that Friday.

I just entered my house and dropped my backpack at my feet. I managed to take a total of 15 steps upstairs before the phone rang. Quickly I darted into the kitchen to see who it was calling. It didn't surprise me that Ino had been the caller. tentatively I picked up the phone and answered.

"Hey Ino, what's going on?"

"Hey, I wanted to ask you if you were free tonight. I was going to have a sleepover with Tenten and Hinata. Are you up for it?"

I smiled at the prospect of actually talking to my friends. Despite that, the urge to let my story slip might overwhelm me.

"I don't know Ino. I don't think I should. I'm busy anyway." I replied.

"Aw come on! You've been avoiding us for days now! I want to see you again.. You haven't even told is why you wot talk to us" I almost heard Ino moan over the phone.

"...There isn't anything wrong. I... haven't felt like talking..." My voice failed me so many times while trying saying that,

"I know something is going on. I'd like you to tell me what it is. I know you won't tell me though. Well, anyway I'm not here to interrogate you, Sakura. I'm here to ask to you want to come or not."

"Let me think about it." I said flatly. Trying to keep some sort of composure. I wanted to go so badly it hurt.

"Pleeeeease, there will be music and junk food and... _boys_..."

My eyes widened. "Which boys are coming?"

"Naruto and Sasuke."

"Sasuke." I repeated in soft whisper.

"How did you get him to come?" I asked, Trying to mask my enthusiasm.

"Oh it was easy. I asked Naruto to go. Since Naruto is friends with Sasuke, all he had to do was ask!" Ino said.

"I'll be there!" I blurted out.

"Great, be here at 8:00 tonight! I'll be waiting!" Ino hung up the phone frighteningly quick.

* * *

I got ready and headed out immediately at 8:00 on the dot. when I arrived to Ino's house in West Konoha, the business district to town. The door to her modest little house was open upon arriving, so I trudged in. Instead of loud music or lively chatter, the empty sound of idle, hushed talk filled my ears.

"Sakura is that you? Come downstairs!" Ino called to me. I obediently followed her directions and walked onto the basement. Everyone Ino promised would be there was, Tenten, Hinata, Naruto, and... Sasuke.

Except no one look to be having fun, or hell, being happy. Hinata sat, head in hands. All the others crowed around her. All except for Sasuke who took his place on the floor at the foot of the couch.

"What's happening?" I asked, turning my attention to Sasuke for a moment and turning my attention back to Hinata.

"Hinata was robbed her way here. She hasn't told us much else." Naruto said, putting his arm around her. She jumped a little at the contact, and blushed madly. At the sight Naruto recoiled with embarrassment.

"Tell us everything Hinata." Tenten spoke up, using a her signature motherly tone.

"W-well it was around 7:30 I think. I had walked for a while and my feet were getting tired, so I sat on a nearby bench. That's when I sat it, a humanoid creature with a deer shaped head. It stood on two spindly leg and had a huge rack of antlers. I-I felt as though it was starring me down. I got up and ran. It chased after me for blocks, no matter what I tried it wouldn't give up. The creature chased me halfway here. When I-I couldn't run anymore it caught up to me and ripped my diamond necklace off from around my neck and it took m-my purse. I think it ran in the direction of the forest."

All of us took a moment to take in Hinata's story.

**"The Wild Child!"** Naruto shouted, actively trying to rupture our eardrums collectively.

Sasuke slapped his hand to his face in annoyance. I wondered to myself why he had chosen Naruto of all people to befriend.

"Naruto you idiot, this is serious. The wild child doesn't exist."

"What would you know? You never traveled deep enough into the forest to find her hideout!" Naruto threw is hand in the air with a certain passion which almost convinced me of his absurd point.

"Naruto, why the hell would a girl want to live in the wild?" Ino questioned rhetorically.

"I told you. She is a wild child! She is half deer! I head about her yesterday on the news. She has conducted several other thefts this year. What Hinata saw fit the description of the wild child perfectly!" Naruto prattled on a little longer until he realized he was nowhere closer to convincing us of his point.

"Fine, I'll find the wild child and get Hinata's stuff back to prove she is real!" Naruto stood up rigidly, beginning to stomp up the stairs.

"Naruto don't go!" Hinata shouted louder than I ever thought she was capable off. This cause Naruto to halt turning towards her, he replied.

"Don't worry Hinata, I'll be fine. I always keep a pocket knife on me. If she tires anything, she'll be sorry." Naruto said, grinning widely.

"I'll go with you. I don't trust you could catch her on your own if she were real." Sasuke rose to his feet slowly, approaching Naruto and sighing simultaneously.

Some told me that this was I once in a lifetime chance to do something with Sasuke. The danger of our mission also made it so much cooler. My whole body felt light. There was no way I would pass this up.

"I'd like to go too!" I said.

The five others in the room turned to me at the same time. I confidently stood , walking towards Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke may have been at least part of my motivation that much rang true. Hinata meant more to me than Sasuke's affection though. She was a close friend and I couldn't leave a close friend hanging.

"**ALRIGHT**!" Naruto once more couldn't control the volume of his voice as he sprung up and down ecstatically.

Tenten smiled at me with pride. I felt she had always thought of me as the dumb weak girl. Not now though. I would be as strong as possible for Hinata.

"Sakura, reach into my purse. You should find a switch blade." Tenten mused.

Ino fixed her worried gaze at Tenten. This wasn't atypical for Tenten in any sense of the word. I found out the hard way the fact that out if school, Tenten might be armed.

Tenten laughed at Ino's worried disposition. "What? It comes in handy when I go through East Konoha."

I did what Tenten directed, and retrieved her big ass switch blade. I never fought once with a blade; but this still felt awesome to handle .

Both Tenten and Ino vouched to stay back with Hinata while Sasuke, Naruto, grabbed flashlights and ventured off to the forest. Everything went smoothly up until we arrived at the entrance near the drive-in.

"Is this the place you were jabbering on about?" Asked Sasuke, directing the flashlight he took into the thick brush.

Naruto failed to respond, for he already dove into the overgrown forest.

"Naruto wait, come here!" Sasuke called in vain. With missing a beat, he dashed into the forest, disappearing shortly after. I made up my mind to chase them. The problem lied with legs. This as where the Akatsuki dwelled. If they caught me here, I'd be pushing up daisies in no time. I shook my head vigorously to myself. No, this is no time to chicken out. If the beast girl existed, I would catch her.

I threw myself into a fast sprint, taking off into the heavily wooded grove. No matter how much I bled from the trees scraggly branches, no matter what unseen obstacles I had to evade, I would find the girl if she was here. In the dark, I collided with something fleshly. With I shallow gasp, I stumbled backward and drew my switch blade. Instantly I was blinded by the piercing light of a flashlight.

"Sakura is that you?" The voice clearly wasn't Naruto's, so I had to be talking to Sasuke. Sasuke turned off his flashlight, allowing my eyes To adjust I the darkness.

"Yes, It's me. H-have you found Naruto yet?" I asked breathlessly.

Sasuke looked down ever so slightly. Oh, it was so cool how he kept his composure at all times. He seemed at least a little down though. When I opened my mouth to return the comment, the two of us heard a scream from what sounded like Naruto.

Both of us raced together through the shadowy forest to meet Naruto who now screamed often enough for us to follow the sound. We soon reached a massive cleaning were the trees twisted to the sky, very few were visible though. Below a circle of tall trees laid Naruto in some sort of industrial fishing net weighed down by stone.

**"Leave you too! It's a trap**!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lung. Sasuke , just as dazed and confused as I, didn't seemed to hear him and ran towards Naruto. suddenly the ground below him gave way and Sasuke felling into a deep chasm. A short snapping sound traveled up in the air. I heard nothing more.

"**Sasuke!**" I screamed it physically hurt my lungs.

"**Sakura behind you!**" Naruto shouted with desperation.

I slowly turned around to see what Naruto was screaming about. There in the darkness stood a slender, two legged deer monster. It was black and had painfully deformed, skinny legs which jutted backwards. A tattered cloth wrapped around the beast's neck like a makeshift scarf. The creature indeed had the head of a deer. This thing had no eyes. Only empty, black, eye sockets which yielded no emotion but a frozen look of perpetual anger. The thing took a step towards me, antler scraping against a nearby tree.

"Don't come any closer!" I commanded.

It drew even closer to me. A lump started to form in my throat. Whether I was scared or upset I couldn't tell. My feelings mixed together, so much so that I felt numb.

"I said don't come any closer!" I warned to no avail. Then I drew my switch blade, pointing it at the beast. In return the beast cocked its head to the side drawing a kunai and pointing it straight at me.

"Listen, I don't want to hurt you if you don't want to hurt me. I want the necklace you stole, from Hinata." I explained softening my tone for the wild child.

She perked up at the word "Stolen" and started to leave until she found I was not follow her. She cocked her head to the side once more and beckoned for me to follow. I have no clue what possessed me to follow; but I followed, ignoring Naruto's screams of protest.

* * *

As soon as we left the clearing, the beast girl took off, in the forest with the grace of a true deer. All the while lagged behind her wearily batting twigs and thorns out of my way. She made absolutely no sound as she continued through the ever-thickening grove. Perhaps I saw things because of our near constant movement, but she nearly looked as if she wasn't budging a single blade of grass as she ran.

The girl finally came to an abrupt stop at an absolutely massive tree house. My breath had been taken away by either the magnificence of tree house or my pseudo marathon. More than likely both put me in this state. Miss. Wild Child climbed up the ladder into the house. I awkwardly followed.

Her tree house was just as vibrant and alive on the inside as it was outside. Wall were lined with colorful trinkets, nic-nacs, and toys. Lanterns of all shapes hung from the ceiling, all producing a homey glow. Pieces of colorful broken glass lined the windows and caused the floor of the tree house to show different colors. In he corner of the room there were two boxes, one full, the other not. The girl passed me and started rifling through one. She soon turned up a beautiful diamond necklace and a pale blue purse.

She twisted to face me. I saw for the first time that she wore a deer-like mask; this was not her real face at all.

"I was going to give everything back when I was done with it." The girl murmured as she began to remove her mask.


	5. Last of The Wild Child

**Hello everybody! I don't feel like this is the best chapter I've written, but it will tie in with the plot later. Next time we'll be goin' back to school! The Akatsuki is going to be all together, not to mention there will be the triumphant return of Karin. In other news, I feel pretty weird about doing this but I will anyway. I will be withholding the next chapter until I get at least 3 reviews. I want to know people are still actively reading this. Anyway enjoy and Larf on!**

* * *

The wild child lifted off her cracked deer mask to reveal what was behind her wooden facade. She was quite cute to my bewilderment. The girl still bore a wild, untamed appearance, however she also looked to be well groomed for a girl who may or may not life in the forest. Her wavy orange hair framed her round freckled face and innocent green eyes very well. As far as I could tell, she appeared almost fifteen or sixteen. She had to be at least 5'3 or so because she was small in every way.

"Do you have a name?" I questioned in an admittedly ignorant fashion.

The girl tilted her head slightly and furrowed her brow. I instantly felt stupid for asking.

"Of course I have a name. Why would not have a name? I don't think I know anyone who has no name." The girl originally addressed me when answering, but she began to talk to herself afterwards.

I had no clue as to how I should react her now then sided chatter. It proved to be an awkward confrontation between the two if us.

"Why do names even mean so much to us? If no one had a name then couldn't we memorize faces? And if we couldn't then why are animals able to tell each other apart without names?" She continued to ramble enthusiastically about the oh-so fascinating nature of names.

I sighed quietly to myself and smiled at her. She had thrust herself into deep thought at a time which was probably not suited for it.

"I guess I get it. But you haven't told me your own name." The girl stiffened briefly and furrowed her brow, suddenly realizing her mistake.

"Oh, I almost forgot to give you my name. Most call me Moriko Yume, The Wild Child of Konoha. At least some people call me Moriko. I'm not sure how many people know me well enough to call me Moriko. Either way, you can call what you'd like." Moriko cracked a mischievous grin.

"I bet you want to know why I stole all the stuff you see right?" Moriko asked sharply as she gestured to the boxes full to the brim with the belongings of ill prepared bystanders that crossed her.

I nodded slowly, off put by her eagerness to tell her tale.

"I wanted to learn more about the people I stole from. You know, the best way to learn about them is through their possessions." The girl said simply, smiling again as if she were a little kid trying to justify taking from the cookie jar.

I was dumbfounded by her answer. I never in my life heard a more absurd excuse for petty theft. Maybe from Naruto, but as far as I knew he doesn't steal, only play pranks.

"Why don't you talk to them if you want to know them" I finally said after remaining passive while listening to her blabbering.

"Because they'll be boring, I dislike boring people more than I do mean people. But the thing is most people are boring so I steal to learn about them." Moriko's playful tone turned scornful at the mention of "boring people". She said nothing else and gazed at me intently, waiting for some sort of remake from me.

I backed up, twisting around to see the small doorway leading to the rope ladder. Leaving seemed warranted although not a possibility at the time. Huffing to myself, I turned back to Moriko.

"I am boring to you then?" I questioned in obvious irritation.

The orange haired girl blatantly ignored my bitterly delivered question and responded.

"Yeah, you are probably pretty boring. That's not a bad thing though. Most are, I'm not even saying I'm exciting because I'm not. In fact, if I had the chance to meet me I think I'd pass." Moriko opened her mouth to say something more; but was interrupted to the sound of clattering wood against the tree trunk. I spun around, looking down the ladder I saw an injured Sasuke with Naruto following close behind.

* * *

Moriko padded over the the doorway and leaned over me to get a glimpse of the two climbing up clumsily. We let the boys have room to climb in. As soon as both were safely inside, Naruto pointed at me in accusation.

"You just left me in that net and followed the wild child!" He bellowed angrily.

I honestly had no regrets in doing so. He was an annoying, squawking boy and I hated being around him more than necessary. In addition I discovered the identity of the Wild Child and convinced her to return what she stole. Surely that was worth leaving him with Sasuke for.

"Moriko Yume, I should have assumed you were the wild child. Funny, I thought you were done with petty theft." Sasuke said smoothly.

Moriko giggled with amusment at Sasuke's scolding her.

"Yeah, I was going too. But it just felt too tempting to pass up an opportunity to learn more! I thought no one would try to find me after I made those traps to ensnare those who came after their stuff. As soon as Sakura pointed that switchblade at me demanding her stuff I knew I should end it there. The fun was over anyway." Moriko's words raced from her mouth so fast the syllables collided with each other causing an ongoing slur. At first I tried to ignore her speech pattern; but it started demanding my attention after a while. I bit my lip as to not let myself hint at my bewilderment. Sasuke and Naruto both had a similarly puzzled look on their faces.

Sasuke narrowed his coal black eyes at her; fighting through her now train wreck of speech.

"When I heard the wild child had been stealing again, I assumed it was only a night fueled terror that didn't exist. I knew you stopped stealing a long time ago. Then Hinata told us of tonight's incident. I still felt cynical, but I came here to find out if I was wrong. It seems Naruto's babbling wasn't just babbling.

Moriko practically deflated in our midst. Her round greens eyes drooped and her posture contracted defensively. Naruto and I were slack jawed at Sasuke's apparent knowledge Moriko.

"You mean you knew her all along?" The two of us shouted in unison at the Uchiha. He nodded to us, keeping his gaze on Moriko.

"I will be telling your father you have been assuming the identity of the wild child once more. You won't be getting away with this" Sasuke chided

I made my way to the tree house entrance, diamond necklace and purse in hand. Sasuke obviously could take care of Moriko by himself. Naruto would be fine too. As soon as I took another step, I paused. I couldn't leave them behind. I came all the way here with those two. Abandoning them here, whether they were able to handle themselves or not; I should stay.

"Please don't tell him! He won't allow me to come to the forest anymore! Y-you know I need to be here. Moriko's lurched toward Sasuke.

"I need to be here!" Moriko cried. Naruto shot me a questioning glance. I shrugged in response. Sasuke must be tolerant to stand her.

"Do you think I care? This is the last time you will be committing crimes. Truthfully, I could have you arrested; but you aren't fit to be in a detention centre. You're much too... innocent." Sasuke remained stone faced as he talked.

Everything he said was true; but "Too Innocent?" she stole from unsuspecting people. More than once if Sasuke is correct. Innocent isn't the word I'd use for her.

Moriko remained stooped over.

"Fine, tell him if you want. I gotta return all this in the morning." She made broad gestures to the boxes again.

"You can leave now." Her tone sagged into a low moan. She slowly turned her back on our trio.

Naruto and I breathed raggedly, beginning to climb down the unstable ladder into the darkness. Stepping from away from the ladder I noticed something missing, Sasuke. Judging by my blonde companion's constantly swiveling head, he realized it too.

* * *

"Are you still up there?" He blurted to the treetops, sending a flock of awoken birds flying.

"I'm staying here with Moriko for the night! I want you both to go home and rest!" Sasuke responded loudly.

"Are you nuts? Why would you stay with her after all this?" The blond said, maintaining the volume in his voice.

"I have my reasons, now go!"

Naruto opened his mouth to retort, although he hesitated and started walking away.

"C, mon Sakura, I can't ever get that moron to do what I want." Naruto said through clenched teeth. I gallivanted to his side, starting to feel weary from running here and having to walk more.

* * *

Deeper into the brush we traversed, neither one saying a word to the other. A pitch black mantle of night hung unwaveringly over our heads. Crickets chirped in mourning of their dying summer. They were the single source of sound, saving for the crunching grass under our feet.

Naruto decided to be the fool to speak after a while.

"You know Sakura, this is pretty nice. I wish we could do this kinda thing more often!"

"What, chase after thieves dressed as monsters?"

"No, I mean hang out more. We used to do it all the time remember?"

I said nothing to his thinly veiled offer. He was the most irritating, loud person I had met. I didn't like him that much. But to humor him I continued to talk, on a different topic though.

"I don't think I've met your parents before." I said, horrible move on my part. I don't know what I expected; but I was desperately trying to find another topic to hang on to. I wasn't thinking about the consequences of this one.

Naruto's brick walking slowed to a crawl.

"That's because I've never had parents. I've lived me whole life in the orphanage. Never once has anyone considered adopting me."

My emerald eyes widened in shock. This was something I guess I failed to consider about him. He didn't talk about it as a boy. Of vast amount he talked, the orphanage was brought up a total of one time.

"I-I'm sorry..." I stuttered, feeling embarrassed for bringing it up so clumsily, or at all.

"Ah, it's okay. I bet you just didn't know." In the dark it was hard to tell; but I think I saw Naruto crack a weak grin.

"It isn't that bad. You just gotta keep your chin up! I think I might be a little too old to be adopted now anyway."

I could hear Naruto choke up with his words.

"I always wanted my own family to love me. But sometimes life doesn't work the way we want it to. We have to remember to keep smiling because things will look up someday, right?" I could hear the insincerity he now had weaved in his words. He must have been telling himself that for years.

I couldn't get myself to say a thing for the longest time. I was at a loss with the verbal hole I felt I had dug myself into.

Naruto spoke sadly again.

"It doesn't matter though. I'm 17 now. I can have my own house next year, so I don't have to live there much longer." Naruto smirked weakly.

"You shouldn't have to live like that." I softly remarked, attempting to be mindful of what I said.

Naruto's weak smile extended to the sides of his mouth.

"Yeah, but it's isn't all bad I guess. I learned a lot from being without a family." Naruto's face displayed that he was ready to cry, which his now harshly trembling lips pursed together.

"H-hey, I think that's the drive-in." Naruto said wearily, pointing to an opening in the thinning brush. It came across to me that his didn't want to continue talking about his life, so I let the conversation die.

* * *

We managed to haul ourselves from the forest onto a nearby bench, both heavily panting from our journey.

"I should get home Sakura. I actually had a ton of fun chasing the wild child and coming here with you." Naruto said, rising from his seat sluggishly. As soon he vanished into the dark, I rose myself; clenching Hinata's belongings tightly.

I arrived back at Ino's house around twelve AM. Ino, Tenten and Hinata all sprung up when I stepped through the door. I was surrounded in the blink of an eye. All three begged me to tell them everything, so I did my best to bring light to the situation. After my long winded recount of the night I gave Hinata her items. She instantaneously  
hugged onto me, thanking me much more then I wanted.

An hour had passed before we started to prepare for bed reluctantly. Ino and Tenten had planned for us to watch some crappy chick flicks so we could mock them. We were going to host a lame five person dance party and binge on junk food. But not anymore; we were too exhausted for fucking around. Ino turned off the lights while we climbed on to any available bedding.

"U-um Sakura?" Hinata addressed passively.

I craned my head in her direction, fighting the urge to lay back on the warm futon and fall asleep.

"What is it?" I murmured.

"I-I just want to thank you again for getting my things back. I-it was brave of you to do."

"Aw, I'm not brave, not at all." I may have been falling asleep; but I surly wasn't ready to call myself such a thing reserved for those who held their own.

"God, Sakura give yourself some credit! No one else was going after the wild child. Do I have to remind you that you were the one to unveil her?" Tenten interjected. The more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right. I got Moriko to unmask herself. I was the one who scared her into uncovering her hideout. I was the one who held the switch blade and demanded she give back what she stole. I was braver after that.

"You're right. I did." I said with finality.

"I am brave now" I told myself over and over to myself until it became somewhat of a mantra. A weight felt to be lifted off my shoulder succeeding every repetition of the phrase. Soon I felt as if I could walk on air. Nothing could bring me down and nothing could hurt me. Even thoughts of the Akatsuki floated far away. I liked this feeling. I wanted to feel this much more often. It became clear how to continue feeling the way I did then. I needed to be poised and confident. There was no way I was going to sit around and take the world sitting down anymore. Fuck Karin, fuck the Akatsuki. I would take what I what I saw fit and do what I saw fit.

That Monday I walked into first hour, still feeling at peace with myself. However that all went down the crapper when I spotted Moriko Yume in the desk next to Sasuke, inspecting his injured leg.


End file.
